Arcadis Hires a Nike and Philips Veteran as People Chief

Arcadis filled two of its most important jobs on the same day, and the picks tell you how new CEO Heather Polinsky means to run the Dutch engineering group.

The €4.87bn (US$5.3bn) consultancy has appointed Jana Belyusova as Chief People Officer and Barbara van Koppen as Global General Counsel, both joining the Executive Leadership Team from the company's Amsterdam headquarters.

For a firm of roughly 37,700 people across 185 locations, the two hires fill the seats that decide how it is staffed and how it is governed.

"Arcadis is stepping into its next phase with clarity and ambition," Heather says in a statement. "Performance starts with the strength of our leadership and the choices we make on people and capability."

Filling both roles on the same day, rather than piecemeal, shows how much she intends to run Arcadis through strong people leadership and tight governance.

Nike, Philips and a people-first pitch

Jana arrives from Versuni, the appliances maker carved out of Philips, where as Chief Human Resources Officer she ran HR across 53 countries and co-led a company-wide transformation that paired operational savings with cultural renewal.

Before that she was Chief HR Officer at Endemol-Shine Group, with earlier roles at Nike and Philips.

"What drew me to Arcadis is its clarity of purpose and its belief that people are the engine of performance," says Jana in a statement, who will soon own talent, culture and leadership for the whole group.

That is precisely the brief Heather wants filled, describing an incoming chief who "builds organizations that move with pace, stay inclusive and deliver results".

A safe pair of hands on governance

Barbara is less a new face than a promotion. She has run the legal function as interim General Counsel since January, and now takes the role permanently, joining the ELT to lead the Legal, Compliance and Privacy teams.

Her background is 27 years at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, more than 16 of them as General Counsel.

She has effectively spent the past six months auditioning for the job, and the permanent appointment buys continuity as Arcadis leans harder into regulated, high-stakes work.

"What makes this organisation special is how teams come together to solve complex challenges and create value for our clients," says Barbara, who casts her role as helping the business move with confidence rather than holding it back.

The reset behind the hires

The same week as the appointments, Arcadis signed an agreement with 374Water to chase federal and commercial contracts for destroying PFAS-contaminated waste, the kind of tightly regulated, technically demanding project that rewards strong people leadership and sharp governance in equal measure.

For HR leaders the message is the one Heather keeps returning to. Talent and capability are not a support function at Arcadis but the thing performance is built on, and she has now put someone in charge of each.

Jana will be judged on whether she can make a 37,700-strong workforce move faster without losing what holds it together. Barbara will be judged on keeping the company safe while it grows.

Both start with the CEO's full backing, and little time to settle in.